Benji and Sam James Battle for Team Adam with ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ on ‘The Voice’

Team Adam rocked the house tonight (Oct. 15) as race-car driver Benji battled against bar manager Sam James on ‘The Voice.’ The duo sang a rendition of Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ that seriously impressed the judges.

Coach Adam Levine admitted to having thrown a curve ball at his contestants. “I wanted them to be out of their comfort zone,” he explained. He went on to say that “Sam has this density to his voice” and “Benji is an amazing screamer but he can also have this clean, pristine sounding voice … I think the two of them together will be a powerful duet.”

Both singers had their own challenges to face during rehearsal. Guest advisor Mary J. Blige remarked that while James has a great voice, he needed to be creative in order to hit the song’s high notes. Benji’s struggle was finding his true singing voice beneath all of the screaming.

In the end, they both came together for a passionate performance. The judges were especially impressed by Benji’s range and willingness to step out of his comfort zone – not to mention those epic moments when he “screamed like a bat flying straight out of hell.” But despite the fact that Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera gave their votes to him, Levine made the less obvious (but certainly no less talented) choice and went with James instead.

While his fellow judges didn’t seem to fully understand or support his decision, Levine was confident that he made the right choice. “Sam, you have your own style and I really felt it coming through…I respect that,” he said.

It looks like James might not have to sling drinks anymore after all as he advances to the knockout round.